Solo StarWarsD6 pt17: History Revealed

System: Star Wars D6 by West End Games.
Setting: Star Wars Era of the Rebellion.
Character: Royxand Handscul ‘Roy’, Corporate scout
Luca Delste, Smuggler
Kuna Desyk, Hacker
Solo Tools: MUNE, donjon, GameMaster’s Apprentice deck of cards from beta Alone release bundle
Books: Star Wars The Roleplaying Game Second Edition (West End Games), Galaxy Guide 8: Scouts, Tales of the Jedi Companion, OpenD6 Fantasy
Homebrew Rules: D6Legends

Continuing from the last session, I ask.
Q: Are there other Amalsi around?
A: No, and the cell guard is about to leave for cell rounds.
Roy: Pickpocket (Dexterity,Opposed): 3/2: Target will notice item missing next round.

Roy will attempt to unlock the door and put back the key before the guard realizes its gone. I decide that’s a moderate Dexterity roll. Roy is wounded and he will spend 2 CPs to ensure success.
Roy: Dexterity: 3(-)/3: Success

Roy swiftly picks the keys from the guard, unlocks the door silently and puts the keys back before the Amalsi realizes they’re gone. Unfortunately, as he puts them back, he stumbles and pushes him. The guard turns and looks at him inquisitively.
“Sorry, water. Thirsty.” Roy says quickly.

Roy: Con (Opposed): 3/1: Success

The guard grunts and kicks a bowl of water from under the bars before returning to his post.

Like clockwork, Roy notices that the guards begin their rounds as they did every night before. A second guard comes and together they leave. Now is Roy’s chance!

Roy: Sneak: 4(+++)/ Success!
Wow three 6s in a row on the Wild Die.
I decide that Roy will move silently like a cat and no one will notice as long as he doesn’t do anything stupid.

Roy moves silently around the corners, avoiding the guards as he has learned their route by heart. He left behind in his cell a decoy made of blankets, so that no one will notice he is missing. Then he turns his attention to find out where his companions are being held.

Roy: Search: 4(++)/2: Success
Another double 6s on the Wild Die!
He will manage to find his mates and something extra.

Roy locates the cells of his friends. As he expected they are nearby. He also notices a stash of their belongings. It’s their gear that they had when the Amalsi captured them, and whatever was salvaged from the Red Rancor.

Q: Is it guarded?
A: Yes, and it’s two guards who are interested in the items.
Now I (as a player! and not a GM) had an idea. Roy needs a distraction. He also had noticed their aversion to fire. So I will try to light a fire.
Q: Is there any flammable material nearby? (Likely since it’s a feudal society)
A: No, but they have their blankets in the cells.
Q: Does Roy have a lighter on him? (Likely)
A: No

Roy heads over to Lucas cell.
“Hey.” He whispers.
“Boy am I happy to see you! Quick, get me out of here.” Luca whispers back.
“It’s locked. I’ll have to distract them. I’ll need a lighter and your blanket.”

Q: Does Luca have a lighter? (Likely)
A: Yes, but, it’s almost empty. It will be good for one use only.

He takes the blanket and an almost empty lighter and sneaks over to Kuna’s cell.
“Hey. No time to explain. Lighter and blankets.” He whispers.

Q: Does Kuna have a lighter? (Likely)
A: Yes, but, it’s almost empty. It will be good for one use only.

Kuna gives Roy what he asked, and Roy leaves.
He sets off to a warehouse-like cavern structure that is out of sight and tries to set the blankets ablaze.

Roy: Survival: 1/2: Failure.

The material is damp and cold, and Roy has a hard time setting it on fire. Luca’s lighter empties out in the process, and he tries again with Kuna’s lighter.

Roy: Survival: 4/2: Success

His second try, succeful, Roy sets the blankets on fire and hides them in the warehouse. He moves out of sight and waits.
Not a long while later, the clouds of smoke are visible. The entire contents of the warehouse are on fire and the flames are visible in a distance. Roy heats shouting as the guards notice the flames.

Q: Do the Amalsi that guard the stash abandon their post? (Likely)
A: Yes, and they also take the patrolmen with them to fight the fire.

Roy notices that the Amalsi that guarded the stash with their belongings left in a hurry. He heads over and gathers all he can carry, filling two backpacks.
He then proceeds to open Luca’s and Kuna’s cells with a trusty blaster pistol shot.

Q: Do the Amalsi notice the blasts? (Unlikely, since they are distracted firefighting)
A: Yes

The shots don’t go unnoticed.
A guard notices Roy and the team and tries to call for reinforcements.

Roy turns to Luca. “They hate the fire. I have them something to worry about.”

Q: Do the Amalsi try to stop the team or the fire?
A: The fire.

Despite the guard’s call. No one cares. Eventually he gives up and heads over to assist his kind with the fire.
The companions leave the Amalsi settlement unopposed and head deeper into a random glacier path.

Since they are sure to be followed I will roll a Sneak skill attempt.
Roy: Sneak (Opposed): 3/3(++): Success, but a small group will reach them.

A while later they hear the sounds of pursuit. The Amalsi must have quenched the fire and sent out search groups.
Roy heats a ‘swoosh’ sound and a javelin nearly hits him, smashing into the ice next to him. Their pursuers caught up to them!

1D Amalsi Scouts: 3
I decide that since the javelin almost hit them, it is at its maximum range 40 meters. I took its stats from OpenD6 Fantasy.

Initiative:
Team: 15
Amalsi Scouts: 11

Round 1:

I need to know about the environment. I decide that it’s a narrow icy path.
Q: Is there natural light?
A: No, but the team has glow rods.
The glow rods have a range of 50 meters so they should be fine.
Q: Do they have their blasters at the ready? (Likely Since they are hunted down)
A: Yes
Roy shoots at the scout who threw his javelin at him.
Roy: Shoot Scout 1: 3/4 Miss.
Luca wants to shoot at their leader to intimidate them.
So to find out if there is a scout leader, first he must make a successful Moderate Perception roll.
Luca: Perception: 2/3: Failure
One of the scouts seems stronger, Luca doesn’t know if he is the leader, but nevertheless he decides to shoot him.
Luca: Shoot scout 2: 5+/4: Hit (Torso): 4/3: Wounded
Kuna shoots at the same Amalsi.
Q: Was his rifle salvaged?
A: No
Kuna: Shoot scout 2: 4+/4: Hit (Torso): 3/1: Incapacitated
The Amalsi must roll a successful willpower roll to stay.
Amalsi: Willpower: 0
They retreat.

Roy shoots at them and misses.
Luca chooses the strongest looking Amalsi and hits him right on the chest with his DL-44 heavy blaster pistol. That doesn’t bring him down, but Kuna’s follow through shot does.
Scared the two remaining Amalsi grab their companion and start retreating. They are no match for blasters.

”We can’t let them leave! They’ll tell the others!” Kuna says as he starts moving towards the retreating Amalsi.
Roy stops him. “We’re the intruders here. It will take them a while to drag him back. Listen to me, we need to press on.”

Roy: Persuasion (Opposed): 1/0: Success

Kuna nods in agreement and they move on.
A while later they stop to camp. Kuna attempts to bring Roy back to fighting shape using a Medpac.

Kuna: First Aid: 2/2: Success

The medicines and the bandages finally seem to be working. Roy is no longer affected by his wounds.

Q: Do they find shelter?
Roy: Survival: 3+/3: Success

Roy finds a side opening in their path and decide to camp there.
They feel hopelessly lost. They share some rations and sleep in shifts.

Q: Does anything occur while they sleep?
A: No

They sleep withou any interruptions. Maybe the Amalsi lost their trail.

Q: Do they have a way of knowing their depth?
A: Yes, Roy has a barometer/altimeter.
Roy: Survival: 4/2: Success
I use GMA scatter to find out if they go up or down, and I get that they are going deeper. Also I want to know where they are heading and get the tags: Skull, Moon, Target. A senses of muffled stealthy footsteps and a location of Colony/Strange city.

The path they follow heads further below. They notice that it widens a bit and feels walked upon a lot. The ice gives way to rock.
Then the path finally opens wide. There is a huge cavern. The ceiling is so high that it is not illuminated by the glow rods.
As they adjust to the new environment they notice that it is a city of sorts. Walls and arches. Roads and buildings. Everything well designed in stone. Very unlike the Amalsi settlement that they were before.
What makes the trio uneasy is the eerie silence. There is no sign of life at all in this forsaken city.
They walk through it and their steps echo. Sometimes they think that they hear other footsteps but as soon as they stop to listen, they hear nothing else.
“What is this place?” Luca asks in a low voice. “It really creeps me out.”
“Let’s search.” Roy says. “But we need to stick together. I feel as if someone is watching.”

Roy: Search: 1: 1 Clue.
Q: Did the Amalsi used to live here?
A: No, but their ancestors did.

They enter what seems to big a big building. In the hall there is a huge painting. It doesn’t have the phosphorescent colors that they noticed the Amalsi use.
It depicts humanoid creatures similar to the Amalsi. They seem taller and stronger, their skin color ranging from tan to dark brown, their fur and manes in vivid dark red colorations, and what seems to be a nose in the middle of their face.
Around them there is plant life and the sky is colored with the gas giant in the background.
‘So the Amal moon wasn’t always frozen? Or did the Amalsi leave their homeworld?’ Roy wonders.

They decide to search this building further.

Roy: Search: 7+++: Success!!!
Wow that’s an insanely good roll. Three 6s on the Wild Die and full success on all dice. I will give Roy the chance to find out what’s going on.
Now is a good time to set the story, most secrets revealed. As I wrote in previous sessions I have some ideas, and now it is time to ask The Oracle if they are valid.
Q: Did the Amalsi always live here?
A: Yes, but the moon wasn’t always frozen.
Q: Does what happened, have to do with the dark side? (Likely, Since everything points to an evil presence).
A: Yes, and it has to do with the Sith.
Intervention! I will roll that after I am done with the 7 questions.
Q: Is there a Sith starship nearby?
A: Yes.
Q: Is there still danger?
A: Yes, and it’s near the Sith site.
Q: Is there something valuable? (Likely since there is an imperial presence trying to find it).
A: Yes, crystals that enhance Force powers.
Q: Is there danger in the city?
A: Yes, creatures are stalking them.
Q: Did the Amalsi stop the Sith?
A: No, unknown yet how or if they were stopped.

It seems that the building they are in used to be a library. The books that they find are made from a sodt material that has managed to stand the test of time. They are written in the Amalsi language, but Roy manages to find one that stands out.
It’s a small document, that is written in both Amalsi and Common, and it even contains an alphabet key between the two languages. It’s labeled “The Annals of The End”.
Roy reads it, and proceeds to give a summary to his companions.

“It says how the Amalsi used to live in a lush paradise with abundant flora and fauna and a clean atmosphere.
One day a metal beast came from the sky, and from its belly descended an evil wizard with his iron minions and his dragons.
They subsided the Amalsi and had them mine out crystals which were valuable to him.
The Amalsi that were not sent to the mines were put to constructing a huge metal drill machine.
Once it was complete, it started boring into the moon.
That’s when it started. The more it dug down to bring out crystals, the more the air filled with purple dust and poison gasses.
At first the plants and animals around the mining site withered and died. Many Amalsi followed.
The bravest tried to rebel and faced off the wizard, but they met their doom at the claws of his dragons.
The weakest tried to flee away, but they were caught and put to slavery.
Then the air got so thick that the sunlight couldn’t pass through and an endless winter came. The plants died, the animals too, and cold covered the land.
The wizard had built a fortress where he lay when he wasn’t in his metal beast.
The Amalsi that used to live here finally managed to flee the city. Either the wizard didn’t care anymore or something happened to him. But they couldn’t stay here any longer. In addition to the conditions, the wizard’s dragons roamed free and attacked any Amalsi they wanted to eat.
They organized some hunting groups to kill them, but none returned.

Intervention: Regress plot
(Adventure obstacle hindering a plot point).
Now it’s the time to introduce the obstacle: Hssiss, dark side reptiles taken from The Tales of the Jedi Companion.

Roy has just finished describing the story of the city to his two mates who are left with mouths agape.
Then the double doors of their room are opened with a slam!
‘Hssiss’ a slithering loud sound is heard and two huge two-meter long reptile beasts charge in. One jumps on top of a bookcase while the other covers the entrance. A double row of spikes extends down their backs from head to tail and four fangs protrude from their jaws.
These must be the ‘dragons’ the Annals told about.

Session Background: One of my favorite sessions so far!
What I Liked: I had my first true player moment, disconnected completely from GM knowledge, when I was trying to figure out the escape plan. I didn’t have to ask The Oracle, I just figured out I needed a distraction, and the fire weakness came to mind! Not a very complex thought I know, but I loved how it played out.
I also loved how I finally managed to tell the story. I had expected that they would find out what’s going on either from the Imperials or from the living Amalsi, slowly and in separate parts. But the flow changed, and I really liked how there was an abandoned city with lost knowledge.
I also liked how the Information mechanic I am using worked out (1 Success = 1 question).
What I want to improve: Resources. I resorted to asking The Oracle if the players had something or not. I want to find a homebrew rule to sort this out. Maybe something similar to the OpenD6 Funds attribute?
I find it tiresome to have bookkeeping on the inventory, weapons and gear of three characters.